Kevin Lankinen has made a point of focusing on what’s in front of him — whether it’s a puck or an opportunity.
The goalie stuck to that ideal Friday as he made his debut for the Vancouver Canucks (0-0-2).
“Living day by day has kind of been my motto the last few years,” he said after the Canucks dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Philadelphia Flyers (1-0-0).
“Not look too far ahead, not look too far behind, and just put my best foot forward every day. And with those habits every day, kind of build that long term success, if you will. So, that was a good first one, but a lot to build on, too.”
Lankinen stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced Friday before Morgan Frost put a shot past him glove side in the fifth round of the shootout.
Some of his biggest saves of the night came midway through the third period when Philly’s highly touted prospect Matvei Michkov fired the puck from the slot, hitting the Finnish netminder’s pad. The rebound popped out to rookie Jett Luchanko, whose shot sent Lankinen diving backward and to his right for a save as bodies crashed into the crease.
“I think that was a little bit of desperation mode there. But I think that’s part of the game, too,” Lankinen said. “I got the bounce, and I think I got some help from the guys, too, along the goal line there. So that’s a team effort.
“I’m trying to do my best, and I know the guys have got my back. And likewise. So it’s fun to play behind this team.”
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was impressed with Lankinen’s performance.
“Really good,” he said. “He’s been good the whole camp and every game he’s played a solid game. Really solid.”
Lankinen was a late addition for the Canucks.
The 29-year-old goalie inked a one-year, US$875,000 contract with Vancouver on Sept. 21 when the team was already in Penticton, B.C., for training camp.
Now in his fifth NHL season, Lankinen went undrafted before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent in May 2018. He spent two seasons with the club before joining the Nashville Predators ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
The six-foot-two, 190-pound netminder has 45-43-15 career record with a .905 save percentage, a 3.06 goals-against average and three shutouts.
He joins a Vancouver goalie squadron led by all-star Thatcher Demko, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
The Canucks are “a great group, from top to bottom,” Lankinen said.
“Solid (defence) core, exceptional talent up front. Obviously, goaltending has been really strong here, too. And even the coaching staff, starting from the head coach to the goalie coach, and everything is top-notch,” he said. “So, I’m just proud of being part of this.”
Vancouver’s defence was tested Friday when Tyler Myers went down less than two minutes into the game after hitting Joel Farabee along the boards.
Myers spent several minutes on the ice being looked at by trainers before he was helped up and went directly to the locker room, favouring his right leg. He did not return.
Making adjustments when a defenceman leaves the game isn’t easy, admitted Vancouver blue liner Derek Forbort.
“You’ve just got to be smart with your changes. You don’t want to over extend,” he said. “It sucks, but everyone’s just got to pick up the slack.”
The Canucks defenders logged big minutes Friday, including captain Quinn Hughes, who’s ice time totalled 31:29.
Lankinen liked the team in front of him rallied.
“That was huge, obviously, playing with five (defencemen) throughout the whole game,” he said. “Especially a game like that, a lot of grinding and battling. They did a tremendous job. I’m really proud of the d-core.”
